Austrian student invents a “second internet”

By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

A 16 year old Austrian student has invented a “second web” with the aim of raising advertising revenue and has subsequently managed to make $25,000 by selling “domains”.

Julian Zehetmayr sells “Second Internet” top level domains for $5 each and you can link to pages on the “First Web” (the main internet).    But you don’t apparently get a proper domain.  Zehetmayr describes it only as a “database entry” – his lawyers supposedly told him this was the only way to avoid being sued by the owners of the domains on the real internet.    I don’t see the difference to be honest – either you own the name or you don’t.   There’s no in between.

The “Second Web” can be accessed here.    Zehetmayr describes the Second Web as a “good advertising opportunity” where people can pick up domain names that are taken on the real internet.

A lot of people seem to agree because 5000 domains are now sold.

What do you think?   A scam or an ingenious idea?  Do you see yourself snapping up domain names on the Second Web?



An Ethnographer Takes a Look at the Digital Culture

By Jimmy Rogers
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

If you’ve got a little time to kill (over 55 minutes, actually), take a look at this great video by an ethnographer about the web’s participatory nature.  What is ethnography you ask?

Well, as explained to me by someone in an actual ethnography course, it’s the study of a culture or society by actually immersing one’s self into that culture.  Kind of the opposite of the objective observer, who sometimes misses the little details.  Because the principle of the web is naturally one of community, an ethnographer is very well suited to understand it.

Anyway, here’s the clip:

The man on the tape is a Dr. Michael Wesch from Kansas State University.  His blog is called Digital Ethnography and if you’re interested in this stuff, I suggest you check it out.  Thanks to Will Mueller for showing me this video.

[Digital Ethnography via ProBlogger]

Who’s your favourite gaming sidekick?

By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

At the moment, I am hopelessly addicted to Mario Kart for the Nintendo DS so this article by the Daily Telegraph was quite interesting.   It asks who the greatest ever gaming sidekicks are and offers ten candidates.

I vote for Yoshi!

Quite often, as I am finding with Mario Kart, the sidekicks tend to eventually take over the game.   Yoshi is my favourite character in SM while Mario doesn’t even get a look-in.

Is that the same with you?  Do you have a favourite gaming sidekick?   If so, who is it?   Did they make the Daily Telegraph list?   Why do you like them?



Did South Park go too far this time?

By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

Did South Park go too far this time?   That’s the question being posed by the Los Angeles Times after South Park came back this week from a several month hiatus.

To me, the question is ridiculous.  South Park ALWAYS goes too far – that’s what makes the programme so popular.  It intentionally sets out to shock.  But what I think has shocked the LA Times is the sight of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas raping Harrison Ford and then raping a stormtrooper.

“We all saw it happen,” says Jimmy, “Do you remember that scene with Indiana in the refrigerator? It didn’t make any sense, Stan.”

But this is ADULT humor!  I think sometimes people forget that.   In the midst of people crying out “what about the children?!”, people forget that this is not actually a children’s programme.

Raping Harrison Ford aside, the episode tries to make the point that Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull sucks big time (or “sucks donkey balls” as Cartman would say), and the whole raping thing is that Lucas and Spielberg have “raped” the franchise for their own ends.   So there is a serious point in there – somewhere, sort of.

Elsewhere, Cartman and Butters dress up disguised as Chinese people and infiltrate a Chinese restaurant.  This is all part of Cartman’s plan to talk to other Chinese people so they can discover the plans for the Chinese invasion of the United States.   But the police soon surround the restaurant and Butters starts shooting everyone in the balls.

To me, the episode was hilarious but what about you?   Was the whole raping thing totally out of control?  DID they go too far?

Oh and by the way, the full episode is available online at South Park Studios if you want to watch it.   It seems to be available outside the US too.

Will There Be Gadgets For 007 In Quantum Of Solace?


Quantum Of Solace, the 22nd James Bond movie and the second to feature Daniel Craig, following his highly-acclaimed turn as 007 in 2006’s Casino Royale, opens in the UK on October 31, 2008, and the USA a week later.

Casino Royale distinguished itself in many ways from previous films in the Bond canon, being far more faithful to author Ian Fleming’s description of Bond (hair colour aside), certainly when it came to issues of character and, unlikely many previous instalments the series (certainly the Pierce Brosnan and Roger Moore films), disregarding special effects and comedy in favour of credibility and a gritty realism. James Bond – at least, the Bond in Flemings’ original texts – is not a very nice person. As Craig’s Bond says in Casino Royale when asked why killing people does not bother him, “Well I wouldn’t be very good at my job if it did.”

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Apple’s Laptop Event Causes a Lot of Buzz

By Jimmy Rogers
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

On Tuesday, October 14 at 10AM, Apple will be having a keynote to show off some new innovations for their notebook line.  The question is: what will those innovations be?

If the internet can be believed, the keynote will debut Apple’s next big bomb, a notebook that ranges from between 800 and 1000 dollars.  With the economy crashing, the tech industry has been feeling the slow-down as much as any other sector.  One of the possible life preservers for Apple and other PC manufacturers is the “sub-notebook” computer.  These are typically smaller notebooks good for checking email, word processing, and surfing the web.  Apple’s “Air” notebook is sort of a sub-notebook, but it’s far too expensive and too light on actual features.

There has also been a rumor going around about something called the “Brick,” which may or may not be a metaphore for what they hope to do to “Windows.”  Supposedly it’s a computer that has been machined out of a single block of Aluminum.  While this sounds trendy and chic, I’m not sure how something like this would really fit into Apple’s game-plan.  The Brick would probably look fantastic, but the costs of production would be very high initially and there is no reason to believe it will boost otherwise flagging sales.

Overall, I hope that something comes out of this keynote, for all of the rumors online in the last few days.  I’m adopting a personal wait-and-see policy until Tuesday.

[Via Wired]

Disclaimer: This blogger has minor financial holdings in Apple, Inc.

Another Way to Get Caffeine in Your Mouth

by Casey Lynn
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

I was just reading an article in PC World about “geek cuisine,” which apparently means caffeinated drinks/candy. I’m not sure why geeks are the only ones who have trouble staying awake; I know just as many law students as programmers who are chugging red bulls at 2am.

In any case, I am a big supporter of, in particular, caffeinated mints. Every few months I put in an order at Chemical Evolution and it’ll last me for quite a while. There’s just nothing quite as convenient as a cup of coffee the size of a dime that tastes like an altoid (though for some reason caffeine sometimes scares people in this form… I’ve had a co-worker berate me that I may as well just be doing speed as she drank her third cup of coffee).

In this last order, however, I decided to try something new and different: caffeinated chapstick. I think that I’ve seen at least one other brand at some point, but the kind I’ve tried is Spazzstick, apparently developed by an Alaskan police officer. It comes infused with caffeine and in a variety of flavors.

The problem is, I have no idea if it works. It’s sort of like that cold prevention stuff that you take when you feel the first signs of illness–does it really make your cold shorter or is that just how long it would have been anyway? It’s not as if I’m going to replace my morning coffee with lip balm, so I’m really not sure if it’s giving me an extra buzz or not.

So have any of you tried any unconventional forms of caffeination? I know that there’s soap as well, but I’ve never tried it. It seems like that might be even more effective than chapstick, given sheer surface area of coverage.

Verizon starts its own Geek Squad! Are you scared yet?

By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

It’s amazing the amount of emails that I received after my GAS story on Geek Squad.    It seemed that everyone thought that I had a direct personal intimate connection to the CEO of Geek Squad and they wanted me to pass on all their customer service complaints to him or her.    The last one was only last week.   It’s getting to the point where I am thinking of billing Geek Squad for secretarial services rendered.

But now we could have a Geek Squad number 3 to contend with, after GS and ConnecTech.   It seems that Verizon wants to jump into the snakepit now with their own offering called Expert Care (nice name, gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling doesn’t it?).    But it’s only for Verizon customers.

First off, we’ve got Verizon on deceptive advertising – I know for a FACT that they don’t have employees sitting there grinning like THAT ready and happy to take your call!   Instead they’ll have minimum wage drones called Chuck or Cindy who won’t know the difference between a CPU and a mouse.

So let’s take a look at their pricing to see what Expert Care offers you :

Device Protection : This covers things such as the telephone, the television and the PC and costs between $4.99 a month and $19.99 a month, depending on what equipment you put under the agreement.   I wonder if shouting down the phone at the Verizon rep and shattering the audio chip is covered?  Worth asking?

Premium Technical Support – 10 month subscription plan at $14.99 per month, with a whopping $60 early termination fee, “help with computer related issues” – so that means they will help you empty your cache and delete your temporary internet files.   Oh and turn your virus scanner on.

Premium Onsite Support – Here’s where they roll out the red carpet for you!  Oh yes Sir!   For up to 250 Americano dollars, your “in-home specialist” (does he move in?) will install, configure, restore, optimize, scan and transfer to your heart’s delight…..then he will empty your cache and delete your temporary internet files.    Then turn your virus scanner on.   Then ask for a cup of coffee.

So what do you think?    Should Geek Squad quake in their boots?   Is Expert Care a worthy rival?   Or are they no different than anyone else?    Your thoughts and opinions please Mr / Mrs / Miss Geek!